Respected former broadcaster and governor general, the Right Honorable Adrienne Clarkson, PC, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., CD., will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at the 2 p.m. ceremony on Friday, June 12, “in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the public life of Canada as a journalist and broadcaster, and as a representative of the Canadian people.”
Adrienne Clarkson has actively promoted tolerance, acceptance and public responsibility in her work as governor general and as a broadcaster and cultural champion. Madame Clarkson worked as host, writer and producer of several influential programs on CBC Television from 1965 to 1987.
She has authored five books and contributed numerous articles to many major publications across Canada. In October 1999, she was sworn in as Canada’s 26th governor general. In that position, she was credited with creating awareness about the courage and commitment of Canada’s Armed Forces. She visited and inspired troops in Kosovo, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan.
Her passionate interest in Canada’s North and circumpolar nations led to a successful state visit to the Russian Federation, Finland and Iceland in 2003. Later, she established the Governor General’s Northern Medal and serves as chair of the jury which chooses its annual winner. On March 17, 2007, she became Colonel-inChief of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), the first Canadian to hold that position. Since leaving the office, she has founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and chairs it with her husband, John Ralston Saul.
The institute’s purpose is to help new Canadian citizens adjust to mainstream Canadian life through a variety of initiatives. Her social activism continues as patron of Pathways to Education in Toronto’s Regent Park and as Honourary Patron to the Bridgepoint Heath Centre, an innovative and unique centre for treating chronic illness, aging and urban aboriginal health. Her bestselling memoir, Heart Matters, was published in 2006. In March 2009, her biography of Dr. Norman Bethune appeared in the Extraordinary Canadians Series published by Penguin Canada.